Snow hits western, northern counties hardest

Truck rolls over on Highway 26

The snow Wednesday hit hardest along the northern and western edges of southeastern Wisconsin.

The snow was coming down hard by mid-morning in western Waukesha and Jefferson counties.

Visibility was low, Interstate 94 was a sloppy mess, and many side roads and state highways were treacherous.

"Pretty messed up. People are going about 20 mph. Snow's pretty slick on the roads, so it's not a good drive," driver Bill Crum said.

Several inches of snow blanketed Watertown, sending folks out to clear their driveways and sidewalks.

It created a stir at Bob Kelmen's house when a car slid off the street and onto his front lawn.

"(The) car (is) sitting there next to the tree. I ran out and checked to see if she was OK, and she said she was alright," Kelmen said.

The most serious incident on Dodge County roadways happened on Highway 26 when the driver of a tractor-trailer spun out and flipped his rig as he tried to avoid a car that had skidded in front of him.

"About 11 a.m., (the truck was) traveling northbound on Highway 26, exited the roadway, started sliding down the embankment and just rolled over on its side," Dodge County sheriff's Deputy Mike Matoushek said.

The truck driver was taken to the hospital, but the Sheriff's Department said his injuries were minor.

There were plenty of other spin-outs and crashes.

The roads were so bad in spots that Crum decided to turn around and wait out the storm.

"It was pretty slick, so I just came back here, and not go anywhere," Crum said.

By early afternoon, the snow had let up. The roads had improved and the focus shifted to deep freeze that was about to hit.

"The roads will start icing up, and the highway shops will be out putting salt down throughout the evening to keep them as safe as possible," Matushek said.

The salt trucks have been out all day. WISN 12 News reporter Kent Wainscott said he saw them on a lot of the rural highways as well as the main roadways.

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